Los Angeles mayoral hopeful Spencer Pratt eviscerated his woke rival Nithya Raman as a 'random city council member' during a heated debate on Wednesday night. The reality TV star, 42, left Raman so upset by the jibe that she continued complaining to a local KNBC reporter following the debate, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Debate Highlights and Viewer Reactions
Pratt's brash debate style won praise as he took on Raman and incumbent Mayor Karen Bass's woke policies, with 79 percent of viewers declaring him the winner, per NBC. The Republican made the remark after Raman accused him of teaming up with Bass to push her out of the race, claiming they want to run only against each other 'because they think that is what will help them win.'
After the comment drew laughs from the audience, Pratt mocked the notion as he said: 'Mayor Bass and I are definitely not working together. I blame this person for burning my house down.' Pratt has been a vocal critic of Bass's handling of the LA wildfires, which decimated his $3.8 million home along with 11,000 others across southern California last January.
Pratt's Strategy and Campaign Momentum
The aspiring politician said he would much rather face only Raman in the election without Bass. 'All the unions support Mayor Bass,' he said. 'You think it's easier to run against the incumbent mayor with all the unions, or a random city council member who has been a failure for six years?' Assessments of the debate broadly deemed that Raman struggled against Pratt and Bass. KNBC described it as a 'rough night' for the city councilwoman, and the famously liberal LA Times deemed her a 'loser' — with Pratt as 'winner.'
It comes as Pratt's campaign for LA Mayor continues to pick up steam, with The Hills star spotlighting the high levels of drug use and homelessness in the city as well as Bass's response to the wildfires. In her post-debate interview with KNBC, Raman doubled down and again said Pratt and Bass were 'attacking me because both of them want to face the other person.' She added, 'I believe that our choices in this election do not have to be the very broken status quo that is frustrating so many Angelenos, or a MAGA Republican.'
Polling and Prediction Markets
Recent polls show a toss-up in the election before voters head to the polls on June 2, with the election heading to a run-off on November 3 if no candidate wins over 50 percent of the vote. Pratt registered at 14 percent support in a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies Poll last month, coming behind Bass at 25 percent and Raman at 17 percent. Prediction market Kalshi gives Pratt a 22 percent chance of victory, surging from less than 10 percent a week before the high-stakes debate.
LA Times columnist Gustavo Arellano said the debate had 'two winners and one loser,' as he slammed Raman for 'failing' to position herself as a leading candidate for voters. 'At times, Raman was tongue-tied trying to answer simple questions,' the columnist said. 'Raman, who had endorsed Bass's reelection before throwing her hat in at the last minute, came off as inexperienced, touchy and unprepared.'
Praise from Meghan McCain and Internal Polling
Meghan McCain praised his performance on Wednesday night as 'absolute raw talent', describing him as having 'killed the debate.' 'This is not hyperbole — @spencerpratt is the blueprint for how my generation of older millennials needs to communicate and present their ideas and campaign messaging when running for office,' McCain said on X. Pratt has launched his campaign around Bass's alleged mismanagement of the Palisades fires, which burned down the $3.8 million home he shared with wife Heidi Montag.
Last month, reports said internal polling for Bass warned that the reality TV star is her biggest threat in the race. An email by the Bass campaign advisor Douglas Herman stated that the campaign's internal pollster, Binder Research, currently shows Pratt in the position to challenge Bass if the election goes to a runoff in November, according to TMZ. If Bass were to lose her re-election, she would become the first Los Angeles mayor to be voted out of office since 2005.
